Eman

My wife and I really enjoy cycling together. As much as we try to stay together, there are times when we might get a little separated (though never out of sight). I was wondering if any of you have ever used a two way radio system when cycling? I know motorcyclists use these.

We cycle on back country roads and we would like to talk or give each other "heads up" about things. The ability to communicate without shouting about traffic, deer, scenery in the area etc., would add to the enjoyment and safety of our experience. A radio set that can clip on our helmets would be ideal. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

dfw

Many of the radios for sale have VOX and headsets. You should be able to clip them to your ear under your helmet. All you would have to do is talk to transmitt. The only problem I could see would be some of the cheaper headsets have flimsy booms that would probably not stay put if you went over a good bump.

2manybikes

I tired a pair of inexpensive ones on bikes with a friend, they cut off the first and last word of most transmissions. He finally stopped using them. I thought they were lousy.

terrymorse 

My wife and I host weekend bike trips for a dozen or so of our riding friends. Where we go, there often is no cell phone coverage, so two-way radios are very useful.

We use the GMRS band, which requires an FCC license of $85 for 5 years. The portable radios range from small consumer ones to rugged 4-watt programmable Motorola units. The smallest and lightest ones weigh about 70 grams, and are made by Audiovox:



If size and weight are an issue, these are hard to beat. When using them in a jersey pocket, we get a range of about a mile. There are many other consumer GMRS radios to choose from, up to about 4 watts for the most powerful ones. If you want to communicate while riding, the best method is to use an ear bud with a push-to-talk microphone. The VOX feature is a nuisance and not practical.

The downside to the consumer radios are the fixed antennas. They have poor gain, and the reception is spotty. The commercial units have replaceable antennnas, so you can select antennas with a greater gain. On our most recent trip to the Sierra, we experimented with Motorola Visar radios. These are 4-watt units that weigh a little over 300 grams with the slim battery -- about as much as half a bottle of water. We had decent reception with these, up to maybe 5 miles in open terrain. They are no longer being made, but there is a steady supply of them available on ebay. They are probably the smallest and lightest 4-watt radios you can get:



We had to get the software and interface box to program frequencies for the radios, but programming them wasn't difficult. If anyone needs to program their Visar, let me know. I'd be happy to do it.

We installed a 40-watt radio in our Jeep, which serves as our support vehicle. That radio has excellent broadcast capability, and its high gain antenna picks up signals well.

I see that Midland is now making a 5-watt consumer GMRS radio. I think that's the first consumer radio with that much power. That's one watt more than even the Visar, but it looks like the Midland has a fixed antenna (required by law if the radio transmits on the FRS band). Even so, Buy.com has the pair on sale for $67, incuding mics, charger, and battery packs. At that price, I think we'll give them a try.